Zambia National Commercial Bank’s Ng’ambi: Banks can’t do all the work on financial services
Upstart fintechs’ entry into financial services hasn’t set up a fixed battle with the established banks in Africa. Quite the contrary, in fact.
Syndication
Technology for good: Challenges and progress
Ravi Menon, Singapore’s central bank chief, said fintechs must serve a larger good and create a better, greener world.
Emerging market bankers and fintechs parse big data to predict credit risk
For banks to make loans to individuals or businesses without a credit history, they must turn to non-traditional metrics, but the results can be spotty.
Fintech innovators and central banks: Frenemies on regulation
Where do you draw the line between regulation and innovation? Central banks are grappling with this issue in the face of rapidly changing technology.
Why giving the poor smartphones doesn’t boost their access to banking
Smartphones may be hailed as the game-changer in efforts to bring more people into the formal banking system, but it’s not living up to the hype.
OVO’s CEO Thompson: Financial inclusion is more than a bank account
Jason Thompson, CEO of Indonesian digital payment player OVO, said there’s more to financial inclusion than just bank accounts and digital payments.
Think there’s too many payment fintechs now? That’s not likely to change
Fintech payment options have mushroomed — from PayLah! and PayNow in Singapore to larger global players such as Apple Pay and Google Pay. Industry players think their ranks can only keep growing.
Fintechs point to institutional resistance for open banking
Large Asian banks — trying to both mitigate risks and avoid new services cannibalizing existing ones — are moving slowly on collaborating with fintechs.
UPDATE: OCBC, DBS tie up with Google Pay for digital payments
OCBC Bank said Monday it entered a tie-up with Google to to allow its customers to use the Google Pay app to make account-to-account PayNow fund transfers.
Xiaomi: When a smartphone maker becomes a bank
Xiaomi has the usual trimmings for a smartphone maker: A retail channel for its products and internet services for its 300M users. It’s also becoming a bank.
Sustainability will be the top topic at Singapore’s Fintech Festival
Sustainability appears set to lead discussions at Singapore’s Fintech Festival this year, as attendees look for ways to cash in on going green.
Spackman enters overseas production deal with Sunwoo Produce
Spackman Entertainment said Tuesday it entered a deal with South Korea-based Sunwoo Produce to collaborate on penetrating new overseas markets.
Kingsmen Creatives to launch Animal Planet exhibition in Singapore
Kingsmen said Wednesday it would launch “Living Worlds: An Animal Planet Experience” exhibition in Singapore as part of a collaboration with Discovery.
Will radio eclipse video’s star? New tech gadgets are driving media companies into voice
Big news organizations are pointing to the next big technology to build an audience: Radio. But it’s not your grandparents’ radio.
Yahoo: These are our content initiatives for Asia
Reta Lee, editor-in-chief for Yahoo Lifestyle and Entertainment in Southeast Asia, recently provided an outline of the tech and media company’s strategies.
Spackman Media’s MS Team signs exclusive contract with Korean actor Ko Sung-hee
Talent agency MS Team, Spackman Media’s wholly owned subsidiary, has signed an exclusive contract with Ko Sung-hee, Spackman Entertainment said Wednesday.
iflix shifts to using Google Open Bidding service for advertising
Southeast Asian streaming service iflix said Tuesday it switched to Google’s Open Bidding service for advertising in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Spackman Entertainment’s ‘Crazy Romance’ in South Korean theatres 2 October
Spackman’s upcoming film “Crazy Romance” is due to hit South Korean cinemas on 2 October, the drama producer said in a filing to SGX Monday.
Anwar Ibrahim: Toxic haze from Indonesia’s forest fires is ‘ecological warfare’
Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s heir-apparent to become prime minister, said the companies behind deadly forest fires in Indonesia must be held to account.
Singapore Deputy PM Heng: Asia remains committed to free trade
The U.S. trade war with China may be drawing unstable lines in the sand, but Singapore’s Deputy PM Heng said Thursday Asia remained committed to free trade.
Sime Darby Plantations: The haze isn’t our fault
Simon Lord, chief sustainability officer at Malaysian palm-oil producer Sime Darby Plantation, had a message on Wednesday: It’s not our fault.
How China’s version of YouTubers are cashing in — without ad revenue
China’s content creators are finding ways to cash in without advertising revenue, designing starkly different monetization models and video formats.